How to Make Curtain Tiebacks

Tiebacksare material that you wind around your drapery or curtain and then loop over a hook attached to the wall, providing just the right finishing touch. They’re fun window treatment accessories that provide you with another chance to show off your creative side as well as allow light into your room.

Because tiebacks have a functional aspect, they have to work, not just look great. When you consider how to make your tieback, keep in mind the weight of your drapery or curtain. A lightweight treatment can employ a tieback made from nearly any material, and a light cup hook is enough to keep it in place.

If you chose a fairly neutral or one-color fabric for your window treatment but still want to add a bit of flavor to your creation, a tieback can be a great way of picking up a contrasting color or motif from elsewhere in your decor.

Fabric tiebacks are just long rectangles of fabric with plastic hooks attached at their ends, or that are tied or knotted together at each end to create a loop. Grab your cloth measuring tape; you need it to make these easy tiebacks. To make yours in any fabric that pleases you, follow these steps:

Hang your drapery or curtain and scoop the fabric away from the window toward the frame.

Loop your measuring tape around the drapery or curtain so it mimics a real tieback and note how many inches of tape you need.

If you plan to create a tieback that ties into a knot or bow, be sure to add a few extra inches for adequate fabric to create the decorative ends.

Add 1 inch for a seam and you have your length.

For your width, consider the weight of your window treatment fabric and the look you want to achieve. Will your tieback fabric be contrasting, and so may be better shown off with a wide tieback? Perhaps a 5-inch tieback would work. Do you want your tieback to disappear into your treatment, and so a thinner tieback may suffice? Perhaps a 2-inch tieback is the ticket. Whatever width you decide to use, double the width and add 1 inch for your seam allowance.

Lay out and cut your fabric.

Using a 1/2-inch seam allowance, sew your fabric in a long tube with the wrong side facing out.

Sew one end of the tieback.

Push the fabric inside out so the right side is showing.

Use a ruler, chopstick, or letter opener.

Tuck 1/2 an inch of fabric on the open end in and hand tack it closed, or use hot glue to seal the end.

Hand sew on two plastic or wood rings at the ends, or create your knot or bow at the end.